Keanu Reeves came in first among celebrities at the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race at the 35th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach event on Saturday.

The “Matrix” star finished fourth overall in a mixed field that included racing pros Al Unser Jr., who won the 10-lap charity race, and Johnny Benson and Tom Rudnai, who finished second and third, respectively.

Other stars who revved up for the event included “Cadillac Records” star Adrien Brody, “Jeopardy” host Alex Trebek, comedian Carlos Mencia, “24” star Mary Lynn Rajskub and “From G’s To Gents” host Fonzworth Bentley.

• Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (Practice) – April 7, 2009
• Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (Day 1) – April 17, 2009
• Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (Day 2) – April 18, 2009

Keanu Reeves, start your engine.

Reeves will get behind the wheel of a race car to compete in the 35th annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach’s Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race.

The 10-lap race for charity will be held on a closed 1.97-mile street circuit in downtown Long Beach, Calif., on April 18.

Other celebrity racers include Luke Wilson, Adrien Brody, Tim Daly, Raven-Symone, Jon Hamm, Tyson Beckford, Alex Trebek, Eric Close, Mary Lynn Rajskub and professional skateboarder Danny Way.

Les Unger, Toyota’s national motorsports manager, said the race is a “win-win” for everyone because it gives fans a chance to see their favorite performers while offering celebrities an opportunity to give back to children in need.

It’s no secret that Keanu Reeves loves anime – a main influence on the “Matrix” series. It’s also common knowledge that the actor holds a place in his heart for sci-fi, as evidenced by films like “A Scanner Darkly,” “Johnny Mnemonic” and the currently-tops-in-theaters “The Day the Earth Stood Still.” It’s no surprise, then, that Reeves’ latest passion project revolves around his desire to make a live-action “Cowboy Bebop.”

“Oh yeah, cool,” he said when I asked him about the flick recently. “We’re trying to do that.”

As fans of the Japanese classic TV series know, “Bebop” follows a crew of bounty hunters traveling around the universe in the year 2071. Reeves hopes to play Spike Spiegel, one of these futuristic cowboys forced to pick up the slack after a population crash and hyperspace gateways have left law-enforcement unable to capture many of the galaxy’s most ruthless criminals.

“It’s got a Western quality, a Western film noir aspect to it,” Reeves said of why he’s such a big fan of Shinichiro Watanabe and Keiko Nobumoto’s groundbreaking series. “It’s got so much style to it, and that’s part of its appeal. That kind of Old West, bordertown, low-tech science fiction aspect.”

Take a look at this clip and you’ll get an idea of why Reeves is not only a perfect-looking fit for Spiegel, but also why he thinks the most important person on the set will be the one trying to translate the series’ unique look. “I think that would be a production designer’s dream,” Reeves said of the flick. “I think you just need a good production designer.”

The flick is currently being put together by Erwin Stoff, a producer who has spent the last two decades working almost exclusively on Reeves projects, and recently set the film up at 20th Century Fox. “We’ve got the rights, we’ve got a writer,” Keanu explained. “He’s putting together a scene outline.”

Reeves revealed that this outline for the flick is currently focusing on the origins of the fictional “Bebop” drug developed by the military, which provides its users with a brief surge of superhuman reflexes and awareness. “We’re taking the Red Eye [story], the beginning part of the series,” he explained, “and then we’ll deal with the end of the series. We’re trying to figure out [the time frame]. We’re looking at the story right now.”

Since the beloved 26-episode show (as well as the feature film) didn’t necessarily maintain a linear style of storytelling, Reeves said that somewhere between the Red Eye origins and the “Bebop” conclusion, they’ll be picking out various highlights for their own use.

“Yeah, it’s so episodic and so disconnected. We’re trying to figure out what pieces to put together to tell one story,” he explained. “Because it’s such a short form, to make a 2 hour version [will be tough]. And it’s got so much of an origin-story obligation; you’ve got to get people up to speed, but you don’t want to do much of that. There are a lot of things to take into consideration, but we think we can do something good.”

With devoted fans all over the world, and a complex universe to depict on screen, Reeves knows that it won’t be easy to make a “Cowboy Bebop” movie. “Yeah,” he grinned when reminded of these facts. “But that’s why you want to do it.”

Keanu Reeves will soon add a Bambi, one of Germany’s top media honors, to his trophy case.

The “Matrix” star will be honored in the best international actor category at the Bambi ceremony Nov. 27 in the German town of Offenburg near the French border.

Among the honorees will be Meg Ryan and local action hero Til Schweiger who, ironically, turned down a supporting role in the original “Matrix.”

Reeves’s latest, “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” opens in Germany on Dec. 11.

A Los Angeles jury on Friday began deliberating a paparazzo’s claim that actor Keanu Reeves knocked him down with his Porsche and permanently injured his wrist.

Attorneys for both sides issued their closing arguments before the jury deliberated about five minutes and left for the weekend. Jurors will resume work Monday.

The attorney for Alison Silva, who claims he was hit by the “Speed” actor in March 2007 while Reeves was behind the wheel of his Porsche, asked the jury to award Silva $711,974, which includes medical bills, loss of wages and punitive damages. Silva’s attorney Joseph Farzam said in his closing argument he was a fan of Reeves but continually contended the actor was “a little careless.”

“Would a reasonably careful person keep driving forward?” Farzam asked the jury.

Reeves’ attorney, Alfred Gerisch, described Silva as a “paparazzo gone wild” in his closing argument and focused on Silva’s contradictory statements to doctors, deputies and witnesses about what happened. Gerisch also replayed a video of the Brazilian-born paparazzo using his supposedly damaged left hand to hold onto razor wire atop a fence to shoot video of Britney Spears.

“You have some ability to stop what Mr. Silva does,” Gerisch said.

Reeves was in the courtroom Friday for the proceedings. Before Gerisch presented his closing argument, the actor asked his attorney to move his podium so it wasn’t blocking Silva’s attorney in the cramped courtroom. The star of “The Matrix” trilogy and the upcoming remake of “The Day the Earth Stood Still” has remained in the courtroom throughout the trial, occasionally conferring with his lawyers.

Actor Keanu Reeves and Gordon Brown’s wife Sarah have lent their support to an obscure Canadian rock group who are the subject of a new documentary.

Anvil! The Story of Anvil tells of a band formed in Toronto in the 1970s and who are still playing today.

“As a young man I remember Anvil posters everywhere in town,” said Reeves, who grew up in Toronto.

Mrs Brown’s brother Sean was involved making the movie, which had its UK premiere at the London Film Festival.

Anvil’s lead singer, Steve “Lips” Kudlow, said the film’s philosophy was to show it was “OK to dream and it’s even better to live the dream”.

“Really what it’s all about is doing what makes you feel good about yourself.”

The band were formed in Toronto by Kudlow and his schoolfriend Robb Reiner.

Their second album, Metal on Metal, gained them some success in 1982, and they supported acts such as Bon Jovi, but they later drifted into obscurity.

“We call ourselves lifers,” Kudlow told BBC News.

“It wasn’t an overnight thing and it was never planned to be.

“We wanted to do this for our lives – it was a decision that we made as young kids, that we’re never going to give up.”

Reeves, who signed autographs for screaming fans in London’s Leicester Square, described the documentary as “a great story”.

“It’s a really inspiring film about friendship,” he added.

Mrs Brown stood on the red carpet talking to those who were involved in the production, before going inside for the screening.

Keanu Reeves’ next court affair will be private, a judge has ruled to favor the actor’s request to keep the media away from his negligence lawsuit case.

The suit, which was filed against him by paparazzo Alison Silva in November, is now expected to remain private. Only the parties involved will have access to the deposition tapes and the transcripts relating to the case.

According to Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elizabeth A. Grimes, the “Matrix” star’s request seems a “reasonable request.”

Silva claimed in the lawsuit that Reeves “in a sudden, erratic and dangerous manner,” hit him with his Porsche in March 2007. The incident left him with “serious injuries to body and severe shock and injuries to the nervous system and person.”

He is seeking unspecified damages. The case is set to go on trial on October 27.

He may have crossed big-screen paths with Abe Lincoln, but the real-life Keanu Reeves is “certainly not more important than the president of the United States.”

So said the lawyer representing a paparazzo who’s suing Reeves in arguing that there’s no reason to seal the actor’s upcoming deposition, per documents filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Noting that former President Bill Clinton’s testimony during the Monica Lewinsky scandal had been televised, attorney Joseph Farzam also aruged that Reeves is no more “popular than O.J. Simpson, whose deposition and in fact entire trial proceedings were televised.”

“Although he has fans and a few of his movies have been quite popular, the public has not shown much interest in his public private life unlike Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and Anna Nicole Smith,” Farzam continued… CONTINUE READING

Keanu Reeves has made a law firm that defended Lindsay Lohan in a traffic collision case his sole legal representatives as a lawsuit against him awaits an important hearing next week, according to court papers obtained today.

The Los Angeles law firm of La Follette, Johnson, De Haas, Fesler & Ames stepped into the litigation on April 3 to join Diamond Bar lawyer Jeffrey N. Redd in defending Reeves against a lawsuit by photographer Alison Silva that alleges a car Reeves was driving hit and injured him.

Last week, Redd left the case. On Monday, the new lawyers are scheduled to make their first appearance in the case when Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elizabeth A. Grimes is scheduled to rule on their motion to strike Silva’s punitive damages claim.

The La Follette firm represented Lindsay Lohan in a lawsuit filed by a busboy, Raymundo Ortega, regarding an October 2005 traffic collision. The parties settled the case in February.

Silva is seeking unspecified general damages in the suit filed Nov. 5. The suit initially alleged negligence and later added assault and battery as causes of action.

Silva claims his earning ability and job prospects have been diminished because of the injuries he suffered on March 19, 2007, when Reeves was behind the wheel of a black 1996 Porsche 911 Cabrio that struck Silva on Avenida Tranquila in Rancho Palos Verdes, according to his suit.

Reeves, who was covering his face, pulled away from the curb and “in a sudden, erratic and dangerous manner drove forward and struck (Silva),” according to the lawsuit.Before he left the case, Redd filed court papers stating that Silva was involved in inherently risky activity and that he should have taken steps to prevent his injuries.

In his four-page motion to strike Silva’s punitive damages claim, defense attorney David J. Ozeran states there is nothing in the lawsuit to support such a demand by the photographer.

“Here, (Silva) has not set forth specific facts to support a claim for punitive damages against Keanu Reeves,” Ozeran’s court papers state. “In fact, there are no facts alleged demonstrating malice on the part of Mr. Reeves and the claim for punitive damages should be stricken.”

Reeves, 43, is best known for his role as Neo in “The Matrix” trilogy as well as for his co-starring role with Sandra Bullock in “Speed.”

On March 19, Silva filed a lawsuit in Santa Monica Superior Court against the X17 photo agency alleging three of the company’s photographers beat him while working near one of Britney Spears’ homes on March 5.